LIGHTS OUT is the latest horror flick about to hit the big screen that takes a simple idea – fear of the dark – and turns it into a fun and campy horror film that is short and to the point (running at just 80 minutes long). Director David Sandberg teams up with producer James Wan to give us chills and thrills providing plenty of nail-biting moments that will result in many screams and laughs.
The opening scene immediately draws you into the world of a family haunted by a strange and eerie apparition. Paul (Billy Burke) is working late in a textile factory and is reading through a bunch of files while his 10-year-old son pleads with him through Skype to come home because his mother is talking to herself. The box of files Paul is perusing hold important information he is seeking when his assistant walks in to his office claiming that she saw something lurking in the dark. After being told to go home, his assistant’s last words to him are a warning to be careful. Sure enough, a few minutes later Paul is brutally murdered by something unknown. His damaged and grieving family that has been torn apart by a strange past will now come together to find out what caused his mysterious death.
Paul’s stepdaughter Rebecca (Teresa Palmer) gets a call from her little brother’s school that he is not sleeping. Rebecca shows up at the school and finds her brother Martin (Gabriel Bateman) completely exhausted and emotionally disturbed by things he is experiencing at home. He begs his sister to let him stay at her apartment as he explains that his mother Sophie (Maria Bello) is acting strangely, and there is something happening when the lights go out. Enlisting the help of her lovable boyfriend Bret (Alexander DiPersia), Rebecca sets out on a mission to figure out what is haunting her family.
For the most part this predictable scary tale has just enough hair raising moments to give die hard fans of horror films something to enjoy. The image of a black shadowy skeleton-like spirit with glowing eyes is effectively creepy and does a great job of accomplishing a good scare when it appears lurking in the dark. There are plenty of pitch black rooms the characters wander into and even though you know something is about to jump out on the screen, eyes will still strain trying to see what hides around the corner. And of course, there is the traditional scene of someone stupidly going down into the basement with only a flashlight to see what is hiding down below.
The dynamics between mother and daughter at odds with each other adds a nice touch to the film. Bello does a great job playing a mentally ill woman coming unglued. Palmer is strong as the big sister trying to protect her baby brother while being the voice of reason to save her mother from spiraling down a disastrous path. Bateman, convincing as a wide-eyed terrorized child, makes you feel a great deal of sympathy watching him deal with crippling fear. Adding a lot of humor (nor sure if this was deliberate or by accident) is DiPersia. His character is an unsuspecting participant in this drama who winds up engaging in a pretty amusing chase scene towards the end of the film in an effort to stay one step ahead of the nasty spirit. Each of the actors nicely manage to breathe life into their characters which in turn gives audiences something to really relate to as they watch and sympathize with people just trying to survive what is terrorizing them.
The narrative giving an explanation as what lead up to the haunting is rather long and (as it is with a lot of horror films) the final reveal is pretty ridiculous. Things going bump in the night is nothing new but it still works for films that have the right cast and an idea with a little twist. LIGHTS OUT is just good ol’ scary spine-tingling fun that may make you want to get a backup generator to keep the lights on, just in case the electricity goes out and something you can’t explain hides in the dark in that safe haven you call home.
